Metroid General Thread

Metroid aka "That Game Series the Lady in the Blue Bodysuit is From" is Nintendo's unwanted bastard child whose name they keep forgetting. It's also one of the best game series of all time and the defacto original example of the Metroidvania genre (hence the name), not to mention it's influential female protagonist who to this day is the first character brought up by defensive people whenever someone mentions in passing that it would be nice if more games had a female main character. Heavily inspired by sci-fi horror, particularly Ridley Scott's Alien, the series features a dark and mysterious atmosphere rarely seen in video games outside of it. Unfortunately this is both a blessing and curse, as apparently dark sci-fi is more of a niche in the Japanese market and westerners prefer to buy American-made when it comes to games (Retro being American apparently doesn't matter since they're not the big name on the box), leading to a series which is both incredibly iconic and also not very marketable.

Useful Links:

• Metroid Database
• Metroid Recon
• Shinesparkers
• Wiki

 

I only played the NES original, where she has green hair, and a few minutes each of Prime and Fusion.

 

Please don't drag me into this thread. You know I'm obligated why do you hurt me in this way?

 

The NES one is pretty clunky, if you want an easier game to get into the series with try Zero Mission or Super.

I was debating on tagging you when I made this. lol

 

Do you want me to go on my "Samus never said she loved Adam in Fusion, the entire point was that he loved her" rant? Because that's how you get me to go on that rant.

 

Honestly there's a lot of things to rant about involving Other M, the game just spat on everything Metroid related that it could. From declaring the Prime series non-canon to retconning most of Zero Mission, Fusion, and Super to completely changing Samus herself.

 

At least Nintendo seems to have realized its mistake and is all "yeah, we're just going to ignore that Other M exists, wait until you people start to forget about it, and then give the reins back to Retro Studios".

 

Let me preface this by saying I like the idea of fucking dogs Metroid Fusion. It's kind of a bad game. It's very linear compared to Zero Mission and Super Metroid and I think that kills some of its charm.

 

I did say I like the game. It's just bottom of the barrel for Metroid games. Only Other M is worse. Fusion needed less Adam, or preferably 0 Adam. The story should have been "Hey Samus, we lost contact with this station go see what's going on."

 

What I like about Adam is something that they never discuss in-depth: that he is yet another person who valued Samus' life above their own. They had mutual respect for each other, but what's stuck with her all these years is that he followed in her parents' footsteps and sacrificed himself to save her.

Ignoring Other M, aside from a few lines of dialogue Samus has always been a vague character in the games. Portraying her as a strong, silent protagonist does help establish the "fearless guardian of the universe" persona, and who she is as a person is often shrouded behind some layer of mystery. It's revelations like Adam's sacrifice, however, that offer a rare glimpse into a rather complex characterization.

Now, just to be clear, this is my personal interpretation, but one that would hold less weight without introducing Adam into the series. Samus has spent her entire life striving to protect others. That is what the Chozo raised her to do, after all, why they infused her with their DNA. Being their "child" and the only hybrid of her kind in the universe, however, meant that - once the Chozo went extinct - she was the only one capable of taking up their mantle. That, combined with the lingering survivor's guilt at watching her parents (and the entire colony) die, is the main force that drives her to fight against malevolent forces.

I can imagine that one of the biggest fears carried by someone who already suffers from survivor's guilt is that someone else would die either for her sake or because of her. Adam's sacrifice not only saw that fear come to fruition, but invited the possibility that such incidents would continue to happen. Samus strives to protect others, but how can she protect them when they put her own survival first? That, in my opinion, seems to be the main reason why she chose the solitary life of a bounty hunter over the more socially inclusive life of a Federation soldier. Saving the universe by her lonesome diminished the risk that there would be another Adam.

But what makes Adam a poignant part of Samus' history is that, like her parents before him, she wants to be worthy of such a profound sacrifice. Fusion never indicated that her feelings towards him were anything other than platonic, but he was a rare equal. By using her abilities to protect the universe she can ensure that he did not die in vain. That, to me, makes her character motivation far more interesting than the typcial "hero seeks vengeance against the forces of evil".

Edit: GODDAMMIT, @Luna THIS SHIT IS WHY METROID THREADS ARE DANGEROUS

 

every time I think metroid, I think of phazon and its green "cousin" Tiberium from command and conquer

 

I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way.

 

Is Federation Force pretty much the final nail in the coffin for the series?

 

Probably. If they were smart they would have made a deal with the AM2R guys to pay them for their work, cleaned it up, and released it. Maybe bundled with the GBA games. That would have sold WAY better than FF.

 

Basically, Sega made a better business decision here than Nintendo did.

 

IT LIVES

 

IT KEEPS HAPPENING

 

I HAVE LITERALLY BEEN SCREAMING FOR THE PAST FIVE MINUTES TODAY IS BEST DAY